Perhaps, a developer would be better equipped to answer your queries, @i6ARE8.
@IamNOTamod said [^](/forum/redirect/post/o0HN3Roo)
> Perhaps, a developer would be better equipped to answer your queries, @i6ARE8.
Haha fair enough. You’re right, only a dev would know the exact constraints.
Just sharing the user perspective here. If the system ever changes, username changes would be way easier. If not, that’s also a valid choice.
Appreciate the discussion.
@i6ARE8 said [^](/forum/redirect/post/zwYNwq7K)
> >
>
> Yeah you’re right, if Lichess was built with username as the primary key from day one, then it’s a massive migration. No one’s saying it’s easy.
>
> But “committed to it now” isn’t a technical limitation...
Your right, nothing is impossible... This is however a massive undertaking for very little gain. The development have said multiple times its unfeasible and not going to happen.
@SANJAY-KURAMA2003 said [^](/forum/redirect/post/rocz2g3i)
> (@) iamNOTamod (@) CG314
> what about in the future there is no user name available?
Basic math is your friend...
Lets pretend every person on earth wants an account, then we need 8.3 billion... Lets even allow 10 billion for future growth, and 3 accounts per person...
Lets also assume we are restricted to the 26 letters of the English alphabet, + 10 digits, so 36 distinct characters...
The, including only names of 7 characters or less, we still have more than twice as many as needed!!!
Instead of requiring every username to be unique, each account could be assigned a permanent system-generated ID (for example, wyMqtCm5) that never changes. Players would then be free to choose any display name they want, while the unique ID remains the true identifier behind the scenes. This would eliminate username conflicts, allow better privacy controls, and preserve historical records because games and forum posts would always remain tied to the permanent ID rather than a mutable username.
Players who want public recognition could show their display name, while those who prefer privacy could hide it and appear only by their unique ID. Verification could also be used to protect titled players and official identities from impersonation.
A simple PGN example illustrates the idea:
[Event "Naming Example"]
[Site "Lichess"]
[GameId "7Ajc4YKh"]
[White "wyMqtCm5"] // Permanent NameId (always visible in any database)
[WhiteName "John Doe"] // Display Name (shows "?" if the name was hidden during game creation)
[WhiteFideId "?"] // Optional set in preferences for verified federation ID
[Black "5mCtqMyw"]
[BlackName "Jane Doe"]
[BlackFideId "?"]
In this example, "John Doe" or "Jane Doe" is just a display name for this example. The permanent NameId (wyMqtCm5) is what guarantees uniqueness and keeps historical records consistent over time.
Maybe this is better. It shows who had what pieces:
[WhitePieces "Jane_Doe"]
[BlackPieces "John_Doe"]
[GameId "7Ajc4YKh"]
[White "5mCtqMyw"]
[Black "wyMqtCm5"]
After 5 years of inactivity lichessorg should delete the accounts and rename the deleted accounts as “guest” so that the games don’t get deleted.
@JuergenWerner
And if the inactive user comes back, only to find that someone else had taken their beloved username?